1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a covering and deflector for existing rain gutters and roof-lines and, more particularly, to an improved deflector assembly for channeling rain water into a rain gutter.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,404,775 and 4,796,390 (which are hereby incorporated by reference), issued to Demartini, describe a deflector assembly which consists of a flat main portion and a curved or arcuate portion located between the main portion and a lower edge. The assembly is positioned above a rain gutter such that the lower edge is located between a front edge and a rear wall of the gutter, and the curved portion is of sufficiently large radius as to extend beyond a trough portion of the gutter and cause water traversing the main portion to be caused, by surface tension, to follow around the curved portion and leave the curved portion at the lower edge. The main portion is held in place with a bracket having a substantially straight upper section and a reverse-curved, downwardly oriented lower section, including upward facing tabs in the upper section and downward facing tabs in the lower section to receive the upper edge of an associated rain gutter.
In principle, water coming from the roof flows onto the main portion of the deflector assembly following its path to the arcuate surface where, through principles of surface adhesion, water will adhere to the surface and be delivered into the gutter as the debris carried by the water is jettisoned off of the arcuate surface. However, difficulties ensue because of how the arcuate portion of the deflector device is attached to the gutter and held in place. Typically, clips, such as those described in the prior art, e.g., in the U.S. Pat. No. '390 Demartini patent, are used to hold the deflector assembly in position above the gutter. The bracket consists of a lower portion which is curved in a reversed direction to the curve of an upper portion. The lower portion is designed to rest on an upper edge of the outside wall of the gutter and is affixed via tabs to an inside lip of the gutter. The brackets are often secured to the gutter by bending the bracket down the outside wall of the gutter thus pulling the tab tight to the inside lip of the gutter. The difficulty with brackets of this type are that they are not fully stationary at the gutter-bracket juncture. Consequently, to facilitate a stable deflector assembly, the top edge of the flat portion of the deflector assembly must be made stationary to the roof via a combination of adhesive strips and by placing nails through the main portion into the roof. Such attachment to the roof prevents horizontal and/or vertical movement from wind and storms which could cause the deflector assembly to be blown off the gutter. The drawbacks of this arrangement are that the adhesive strip increases the cost and time required for installation. Additionally, the nail that is required to make the panel stationary simply introduces one more location on each panel, typically in 3- to 5-foot lengths, wherein water can enter through the shingles into the roof and potentially cause in-wall leaks and destruction of the roof itself. The other limitations of these types of assemblies are that the tabs used to affix the flat portion of the deflector to the bracket are made of aluminum and easily break off. Thus, whenever the flat main portion of the assembly must be removed for maintenance purposes, the brackets must be replaced. Another limitation is that these deflector assemblies have to be installed by trained technicians and often require two installers to align and attach the assembly to the roof.
Additionally, whenever the deflector assembly has to be removed from the gutter and roof for maintenance or replacement because of fallen tree limbs and the like, any fasteners or nails having been used to affix the flat portion of the covering to the roof must be removed, and replacing them during reinstallation further increases chances of causing a water pathway through the shingles and into the structure itself. Additionally, seal strips often used in the installation of this type of deflector often remove the grit from the shingles when the deflectors are removed. If deflectors are not replaced, an unsightly tell-tale blemish is left on the roofing where the seal strip was removed.
Therefore, there is a substantial need in the art for an improved bracket within a deflector assembly that does not require nailing or gluing the deflector assembly to the roof.